Systems and methods of image searching

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods of image searching include receiving content, receiving a request to select an image from content, selecting a plurality of items in the image, retrieving information about the selected item, and providing display data based on the retrieved information.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates generally to searching an image, and moreparticularly, to searching an image to retrieve information.

SUMMARY

Implementations of the systems and methods of image searching aredescribed herein. One implementation is a system including a processingcircuit configured to receive video content from a media source. Thesystem may further include the processing circuit configured to receivea request from a user to select an image from the video content. Thesystem may also include the processing circuit configured to store theimage in a memory. The system may include the processing circuitconfigured to select a plurality of items displayed in the image,wherein a first item has a known identity and a second item has anunknown identity. The system may also include the processing circuitconfigured to highlight the plurality of selected items in the image,wherein the highlighting of the first item has a different appearancethan the highlighting of the second item. The system may yet furtherinclude the processing circuit configured to receive a user selection ofone of the first and second items. The system may include the processingcircuit configured to retrieve information about the selected item. Thesystem may also include the processing circuit configured to providedisplay data based on the retrieved information.

Another implementation is a method including receiving, at a processor,video content from a media source. The method may also includereceiving, at a processor, a request from a user to select an image fromthe video content. The method may further include storing the image in amemory. The method may include selecting a plurality of items in theimage, wherein a first item has a known identity and a second item hasan unknown identity. The method may also include highlighting theplurality of selected items in the image, wherein the highlighting ofthe first item has a different appearance than the highlighting of thesecond item. The method may further include receiving, at a processor, auser selection of one of the first and second items. The method may yetfurther include retrieving information about the selected item. Themethod may include providing display data based on the retrievedinformation.

Another implementation is a method for advertising using anadvertisement server computer. The method may include receiving aselected image based on video content from a media source. The methodmay also include labeling the selected image including a plurality ofitems with advertising labels including content generated by anadvertiser, the content generated by an advertiser including one oftext, video or hyperlink. The method may further include providing anadvertisement associated with an advertiser.

These implementations are mentioned not to limit or define the scope ofthe disclosure, but to provide an example of an implementation of thedisclosure to aid in understanding thereof. Particular implementationscan be developed to realize one or more of the following advantages.

The details of one or more implementations of the disclosure are setforth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Otherfeatures, aspects, and advantages of the disclosure will become apparentfrom the description, the drawings, and the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a selected image in accordance with a describedimplementation;

FIG. 2 illustrates a selected plurality of items displayed in the image,in accordance with a described implementation;

FIG. 3 illustrates highlighted images in accordance with a describedimplementation;

FIG. 4 illustrates a selected highlighted image of a human face inaccordance with a described implementation;

FIG. 5 illustrates display data based on retrieved information about theselected item in accordance with a described implementation;

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a method for image-searching of videocontent in accordance with a described implementation;

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of a method for advertising in accordance witha described implementation; and

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of devices that may be used to implement thesystems and methods in accordance with the described implementations.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A media source may provide, through a server, video content to variousapplications, such as a web browser, applications running within a webbrowser, internet-enabled televisions, etc. The video content mayinclude images that may be provided to an image-matching system such asa server, client-based API, etc. For example, a format for image file(s)may be written by an image server, which may include an image-matchingmodule, to cause the images served by the image server to be referencedwhen the system retrieves the image file(s). For example, an imageserver may be configured to ask a web server information using an imagequery, so that when an object is selected by a user, informationassociated with the image may be displayed.

The terms “a first item” and “a second item” are used for clarity andsimplification within the disclosure. The number of items within animage may include more than a first and a second item. Each of the itemsmay have a known identity, unknown identity, potentially known identity,etc.

FIG. 1 illustrates a selected image 100 in accordance with a describedimplementation. In FIG. 1, video content is received from a media sourceand displayed on a display device. In some implementations, the videocontent may be provided by an application operating on a computingdevice. In some implementations, the device may include DVR, DVD, GoogleTV, (e.g., a set-top box, an integrated internet television device,etc.), etc. The video content may include streaming content,webpage/website content, etc. The video content may include a pluralityof images. The computing device may be configured to receive from theuser a notification that the user would like to select an image from thevideo content. In some implementations, the notification may be arequest to pause, stop, or select a portion of the video content. Thecomputing device may be configured to display a user input device 101,for example, an “image search” input device, configured to receive theuser selection of an image within the video content. User input device101 may appear in a control panel portion 103 of a display. The controlpanel portion 103 may include a play button 105, fast forward/reversebuttons 107, a slider bar 109 showing the progress of playing videocontent, a content title 111, etc. In this embodiment, control panelportion 103 is shown as an overlay of the video content, by having aportion of video content showing through the control panel portion. InFIG. 1, the image 100 shows representations of a human 102, a book on aledge 104, and a bottle on a table 106.

The features disclosed herein may be implemented on a smart televisionmodule (or connected television module, hybrid television module, etc.),which may include a processing circuit configured to integrate internetconnectivity with more traditional television programming sources (e.g.,received via cable, satellite, over-the-air, or other signals). Thesmart television module may be physically incorporated into a televisionset or may include a separate device such as a set-top box, Blu-ray orother digital media player, game console, hotel television system, andother companion device. A smart television module may be configured toallow viewers to search and find videos, movies, photos and othercontent on the web, on a local cable TV channel, on a satellite TVchannel, or stored on a local hard drive. A set-top box (STB) or set-topunit (STU) may include an information appliance device that may containa tuner and connect to a television set and an external source ofsignal, turning the signal into content which is then displayed on thetelevision screen or other display device. A smart television module maybe configured to provide a home screen or top level screen includingicons for a plurality of different applications, such as a web browserand a plurality of streaming media services (e.g., Netflix, Vudu, Hulu,etc.), a connected cable or satellite media source, other web“channels”, etc. The smart television module may further be configuredto provide an electronic programming guide to the user. A companionapplication to the smart television module may be operable on a mobilecomputing device to provide additional information about availableprograms to a user, to allow the user to control the smart televisionmodule, etc. In alternate embodiments, the features may be implementedon a laptop computer or other personal computer, a smartphone, othermobile phone, handheld computer, a tablet PC, or other computing device.

FIG. 2 illustrates a selected plurality of items displayed in the image100, in accordance with a described implementation. The system receivesa request from the user to select an image 100 from the video content.The image 100 may be stored in a memory. In some implementations, theimage 100 includes an advertisement associated with an advertiser. Theadvertisement may include a hyperlink to a webpage associated with theadvertiser. In some implementations, a plurality of items are displayedin the image 100. The plurality of items 100 may include, but are notlimited to, a human face, an object, etc. In some implementations, theplurality of items may be selected by the system or tagged within thevideo content by the producer of the video content. In someimplementations, the plurality of items may be selected by the user, forexample, by dragging a geographic shape (e.g., square, oval, etc.) overa portion of the image. The system may notify the user that a search ofthe plurality of items has begun. For example, in FIG. 2, a plurality ofitems (e.g., human 202, watch 204, book 206, bottle 208) are delineatedwith dashed lines to signify the selection of the items by the systemand/or the user.

The system may or may not know the identity of the plurality of items202, 204, 206, 208, which may be stored in a memory as a status for eachitem. The system may provide a notification to the user via the displayof the status of the identity. For example, in FIG. 2, the plurality ofitems may be highlighted with various colors. It is noted that manydifferent methods may be used to provide a notification of the status ofthe identity of the items, e.g., auditory, graphical, visual, and/ortactile notifications, may be provided. The system may search thehighlighted areas for further information regarding the items 202, 204,206, 208. The system may perform a character recognition algorithm todetermine textual characters associated with an item. For example, thebottle 208 may include text that the system may use to further identifythe item and/or retrieve information about the selected item. In someimplementations, the system may identify a text region of the receivedimage by dividing the image into a plurality of regions, detectingfeatures in each region of the plurality of regions, analyzing detectedfeatures in each region, and determining whether the detected featuresinclude text. The system may be configured to receive a user request tocancel 210 the search at any time; in response to this request, thesystem may be configured to resume the video content. The control panelmay provide an indication 212 that the system is currently searching inan attempt to identify the plurality of items.

FIG. 3 illustrates highlighted images in accordance with a describedimplementation. The plurality of selected items in the image 100 arehighlighted. The highlighting of the first item may have a differentappearance than the second item. In FIG. 3, the highlighted areas 302,304, 306, 308 may be color coded (in the image illustrated in FIG. 3,the highlighted areas 302, 304, 306, 308 are shown as shaded and notdifferentiable, but it should be understood that the highlighted areasmay be of various colors). The system may provide a notification thatthe retrieval of information about the selected item is complete. Forexample, in FIG. 3, the dashed lines surrounding the plurality of itemsare replaced by solid lines to indicate completion of the search, or toindicate whether the search successfully identified the object. Thesystem may also provide a notification regarding the status of thesearch for identities of the items. For example, in FIG. 3, green maysignify that the item has a known identity, yellow may signify that theitem has a plurality of known or potential identities, and red maysignify that the item does not have a known identity. There are manymethods that may be used to provide a notification regarding the statusof the identities of the items. In some implementations, auditoryfeedback may be provided, e.g., a voice-activated notification. Forexample, “the bottle's identity is known, the watch has multipleidentities, and the book does not have a known identity.”

The system may search for the identities of the plurality of searchitems by sending image data to an image matching module. The image datamay represent only a portion of the image that has been selected forpotential identification. The system may receive a report from the imagematching module based on the search. If an identity is found for an itembased on the report, then the item is a first item having a knownidentity. If an identity is not found for an item based on the report,then the item is a second item having an unknown identity. In someimplementations, the report may indicate a potentially known identity,in which case the system may display the item with a highlighting havinga different appearance than the first and second item appearances. Forexample, the item may be recognized by the system as possibly having amatch, but the system may require more information. In this case, thesystem may query additional sources, such as a web-based server or theuser, for more information. In one example, a plurality of potentialidentities may be displayed to the user for user selection of theparticular identity. The potential identities may be textualdescriptions, image matches, a combination of textual descriptions andimage matches, or other potential identifying information (e.g., a weblink to a web page relating to the item, etc.).

The system may also display the number of results 314, i.e., the numberof items, the number of matches, etc. The user may exit the search andresume the video content by selecting a close button 312.

FIG. 4 illustrates a selected highlighted image 404 of a human face inaccordance with a described implementation. The system may receive auser selection of one of the item(s). The user may select the item(s) byusing a d-pad, joystick, mouse, or other appropriate peripherals, tonavigate through the selected highlighted images to make a selection ofan item or image portion for which the user wishes to find and displayadditional information. A d-pad may include a directional input deviceincluding different buttons representing different directions. The d-padmay be part of a handheld remote controller, which may further includingan alphabetical keyboard, touchpad for moving a mouse, hot keys, such asa “search” hotkey, and/or other user input buttons or devices (e.g., amicrophone for voice commands). For example, in FIG. 4, the user selectsa human face 404. The system retrieves information about the selecteditem 404, the human face in FIG. 4.

FIG. 5 illustrates display data based on retrieved information about theselected item in accordance with a described implementation. In FIG. 5,the display data includes data provided as an overlay 500 to the videocontent. The overlay 500 may be presented in any of a number ofpositions on the display. An overlay may include a display screen, awindow (e.g., display, video, etc.), layer, etc. The overlay 500 mayinclude option(s) to see all of the search results, proceed through theresults, close the results, etc. The overlay 500 may include detailsabout the selected item. For example, in FIG. 5, the overlay 500includes the selected item, a human face, along with additionalinformation such as name, news, and other relevant information. Thesystem may also provide a hyperlink to additional information on theInternet. For example, a link to a book written by or about the personrepresented by the selected item may be provided to the user.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a method for image-searching of videocontent in accordance with a described implementation. Generally, a userselects an image from video content from a media source, the systemselects a plurality of items within the image and retrieves an identitystatus of the item(s), then the user selects one of the item(s), and thesystem provides information about the selected item(s).

The method 600 is provided by way of example, as there are a number ofways to carry out the methods according to the present disclosure. Themethod 600 shown in FIG. 6 can be executed or otherwise performed by oneor by a combination of various systems. The method may be implemented bya computer, a computer program, a client, a server, a client-serverrelationship, etc. The method 600 is described herein as carried out bythe system 100 of FIGS. 1-5 and/or the computing devices of FIG. 8, byway of example.

The example method begins at block 602, in which a processor receivesvideo content from a media source, which may be a server computer, amemory device (e.g., a digital versatile disc, a home media storagedevice, etc.), or another source. At block 604, a processor receives arequest from a user to select an image from the video content. Block 604is followed by block 606, in which the image is stored in a memory, forexample, a local memory on a smart television module or tablet PC, or amemory device on a remote server computer. Block 606 is followed byblock 608, in which a plurality of items in the image are selected,wherein a first item has a known identity and a second item has anunknown identity. In some implementations, the image includes anadvertisement associated with an advertiser. The advertisement mayinclude a hyperlink to a webpage associated with the advertiser. In someimplementations, a plurality of items are displayed in the image. Theplurality of items may include, but are not limited to, a human face, anobject, a skyline, etc. In some implementations, the plurality of itemsmay be selected by the system. In some implementations, the plurality ofitems may be selected by the user. The system may notify the user that asearch of the plurality of items has begun. For example, in FIG. 2, theplurality of items are delineated with dashed lines to signify theselection of the items.

The plurality of items may have a known or unknown identity. The systemmay provide a notification on the status of the identity. It is notedthat many different methods may be used to provide a notification of thestatus of the identity of the items, e.g., auditory, graphical, visual,tactile notifications may be provided. The system may search thehighlighted areas for further information regarding the items. Thesystem may perform a character recognition algorithm to determinetextual characters associated with an item. For example, the bottle mayinclude text that the system may use to further identify the item and/orretrieve information about the selected item. In some implementations,the system may identify a text region of the received image by dividingthe image into a plurality of regions, detecting features in each regionof the plurality of regions, analyzing detected features in each region,and determining whether the detected features include text. The systemmay determine that the video content has predetermined item identifierdata within the video content received from the media source. Forexample, the video content may have embedded content that the system mayrecognize.

In some implementations, the system may perform a recognition algorithmon the image. The recognition algorithm may scan the image for theplurality of items with a known identity. The system may include apriority for searching the image for items, for example, focusing thesearch on items such as faces, logos, emblems, words, objects, etc. Inother implementations, a video content producer may adjust the system toembed content within the image (e.g., advertisements, products, etc.),which may adjust the priority for searching the image for items. In someimplementations, the user may adjust the priority for searching theimage for items, e.g., to focus the search on item(s) and/or exclude thesearch for other item(s).

In some implementations, some of the items may have an unknown identity.An unknown identity may include a scenario where the item(s) arerecognized by the system, but is not a selected item(s). The system mayinclude a database for item(s) (e.g., trees, sky, grass, roads, water,patterns, etc.) that are recognized by the system, but are not selecteditem(s). In some implementations, an unknown identity may includeitem(s) that are not in focus on the image.

Block 608 is followed by block 610, in which the plurality of selecteditems in the image are highlighted, wherein the highlighting of thefirst item has a different appearance than the highlighting of thesecond item. The system may provide a notification that the retrieval ofinformation about the selected item is complete. The system may alsoprovide a notification regarding the status of the search for identitiesof the items. There are many methods that may be used to provide anotification regarding the status of the identities of the items. Insome implementations, auditory feedback may be provided, e.g., avoice-activated notification. For example, “the bottle's identity isknown, the watch has multiple identities, and the book does not have aknown identity.”

The system may search for the identities of the plurality of searchitems by sending image data to an image matching module. The system mayreceive a report from the image matching module based on the search. Ifan identity is found for an item based on the report, then the item is afirst item having a known identity. If an identity is not found for anitem based on the report, then the item is a second item having anunknown identity. In some implementations, the report may indicate apotentially known identity and highlighting the item with a highlightinghaving a different appearance than the first and second itemappearances. For example, the item may be recognized by the system aspossibly having a match, but the system requires more information. Inthis case, the system may query additional sources, such as a web-basedserver or the user, for more information.

Block 610 is followed by block 612, in which a processor receives a userselection of one of the first and second items. Block 612 is followed byblock 614, in which information about the selected item is retrieved.Block 614 is followed by block 616, in which display data based on theretrieved information is provided. The display may be a user interface,such as a graphical user interface, command line interface, web-baseduser interface, touchscreen, etc. The display data may include dataprovided as an overlay to the video content.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of a method for advertising in accordance witha described implementation. Generally, an image is selected based onvideo content from a media source, the plurality of items within theselected image are labeled by an advertisement server computer, and anadvertisement associated with an advertiser is provided.

The method 700 is provided by way of example, as there are a number ofways to carry out the methods according to the present disclosure. Themethod 700 shown in FIG. 7 can be executed or otherwise performed by oneor by a combination of various systems. The method may be implemented bya computer, a computer program, a client, a server, a client-serverrelationship, etc. The method 700 is described herein as carried out bythe systems of FIGS. 1-5 and/or the computing devices of FIG. 8, by wayof example.

The example method begins at block 702, in which an advertisement servercomputer receives a selected image based on video content from a mediasource. In some implementations, the image may be selected by thesystem. In some implementations, the user selects an image. Block 702 isfollowed by block 704, in which the advertisement server computer labelsthe selected image, for example in response to programming data providedby a user. Block 704 is followed by block 706, in which theadvertisement server computer provides an advertisement associated withan advertiser and/or product or service to be advertised. The selectedimage may include a plurality of items with advertising labels. Theadvertising labels may include content generated by an advertiser. Thecontent generated by an advertiser may include text, video, andhyperlink(s). The hyperlink may include a website associated with theadvertiser. In some implementations, the content is interactive with theuser. In some implementations, the advertising labels may be generatedby users of an online community. The user-generated content may includeuser profile data, user comments, user preferences, and otherappropriate user-generated content. For example, user A may select animage in video content from a media source. The selected image mayinclude a plurality of items, for example, a watch. The watch may beidentified with a known identity. User A may select the watch. Thedisplay data based on retrieved information about the selected item mayinclude a link to ABC Watch Co. It may also include a comment, like,etc., from user B from a related online community. In someimplementations, the user review may be from an unrelated onlinecommunity. For example, @prettyinpink1234 “ABC Watches are divine.”

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a computing device 800 that may be used toimplement the systems and methods in accordance with the describedimplementations, as either a client or as a server or plurality ofservers. Computing device 800 may include, but is not limited to,digital computers, such as laptops, desktops, workstations, personaldigital assistants, servers, blade servers, mainframes, cellulartelephones, smartphones, mobile computing devices (e.g., a notepad,e-reader, etc.) etc.

Computing device 800 includes a processor 802, memory 804, an interface806 and ports 808. Each of the components 802, 804, 806, and 808, areinterconnected using various busses, and may be mounted on a commonmotherboard or in other manners as appropriate. The processor 802 canprocess instructions for execution within the computing device 800,including instructions stored in the memory 804 to display graphicalinformation for a GUI on an external input/output device, such asdisplay 810 coupled to interface 808. In other implementations, multipleprocessors and/or multiple buses may be used, as appropriate, along withmultiple memories and types of memory. Also, multiple computing devices800 may be connected, with each device providing portions of thenecessary operations (e.g., as a server bank, a group of blade servers,a multi-processor system, etc.). The ports 808, which may includevarious communication ports (e.g., USB, Bluetooth, Ethernet, wirelessEthernet, etc.), may be coupled to one or more input/output devices,such as a keyboard, a mouse, a pointing device, a scanner, etc., or anetworking device (a switch, adapter, bridge, router, hub, repeater,etc.).

The processor 802 may provide, for example, for coordination of theother components of the device 800, such as control of user interfaces,applications run by device 800, and wireless communication by device800. Processor 802 may communicate with a user via interface 806 (e.g.,control, display, external, etc.), coupled to a display 810. The display810 may be, for example, a TFT (Thin-Film-Transistor Liquid CrystalDisplay) display, an OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) display, otherflexible display, etc. The interface 806 may include circuitry fordriving the display 810 to provide graphical, textual, and otherinformation to a user. The interface 806 may receive commands (e.g.,voice-activated, text, etc.), from a user and convert them to provide tothe processor 802. In addition, the interface 806 may be provided tocommunicate with processor 802 and enable near area communication ofdevice 800 with other devices. The interface 806 may provide, forexample, for wired communication. In some implementations, multipleinterfaces may be used. Computing device 800 may communicate wirelesslythrough interface 806, which may include digital signal processingcircuitry where necessary. Interface 806 may provide for communicationsunder various modes or protocols, such as GSM voice calls, SMS, EMS, orMMS messaging, CDMA, TDMA, PDC, WCDMA, CDMA2000, or GPRS, etc. Suchcommunication may occur, for example, through a radio-frequencytransceiver. In addition, short-range communication may occur, such asusing a Bluetooth, WiFi, or other such transceiver. In addition, GPS(Global Positioning System) receiver module may provide additionalnavigation- and location-related wireless data to device 800, which maybe used as appropriate by applications running on device 800. The device800 may also be provided with a storage device to provide additionalstorage, e.g., solid-state flash media. Each of the components may beinterconnected using various buses. Several of the components may bemounted on a common motherboard or in other appropriate manners.

Device 800 may communicate audio feedback. In some implementations, anaudio codec may receive spoken information from a user and convert it tousable digital information. The audio codec may generate audible soundfor a user, such as through a speaker, e.g., in a handset of device.Sound(s) may include sound from voice telephone calls, recorded sound(e.g., voice messages, music files, etc.), sound(s) generated byapplications operating on device, etc.

The memory 804 stores information within the computing device 800. Inone implementation, the memory 804 is a volatile memory unit or units.In another implementation, the memory 804 is a non-volatile memory unitor units. The memory 804 may also be another form of computer-readablemedium, such as a magnetic or optical disk. The memory 804 may becapable of providing mass storage for the computing device 800. In oneimplementation, the memory 804 may be or contain a computer-readablemedium, such as a floppy disk device, a hard disk device, an opticaldisk device, or a tape device, a flash memory or other similar solidstate memory device, or an array of devices, including devices in astorage area network or other configurations. A computer program productcan be tangibly embodied in an information carrier. The computer programproduct may also contain instructions that, when executed, perform oneor more methods, such as those described above. The information carrieris a computer or machine-readable medium, such as the memory 804, memoryon processor 802, a propagated signal, etc. Expansion memory may beprovided and connected to device 800 through interface 806.

These computer programs (e.g., programs, software, software applicationsor code), include machine instructions for a programmable processor, andcan be implemented in a high-level procedural and/or object-orientedprogramming language, and/or in assembly/machine language. As usedherein, the terms “machine-readable medium” and “computer-readablemedium” refers to any computer program product, apparatus and/or device(e.g., magnetic discs, optical disks, memory, Programmable LogicControllers (PLCs) Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs)), used to providemachine instructions and/or data to a programmable processor.

To provide for interaction with a user, the systems and techniquesdescribed here can be implemented on a computer having a display device(e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquid crystal display)monitor), for displaying information to the user and a keyboard and apointing device (e.g., a mouse or a trackball), by which the user canprovide input to the computer. Other kinds of devices can be used toprovide for interaction with a user as well; for example, feedbackprovided to the user may be any form of sensory feedback (e.g., visualfeedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback); and input from theuser may be received in any form, including acoustic, speech, or tactileinput.

Various implementations of the systems and techniques described here canbe realized in digital electronic circuitry, integrated circuitry,specially designed ASICs (application specific integrated circuits),computer hardware, firmware, software, and/or combinations thereof.These various implementations can include implementation in one or morecomputer programs that are executable and/or interpretable on aprogrammable system including at least one programmable processor, whichmay be special or general purpose, coupled to receive data andinstructions from, and to transmit data and instructions to, a storagesystem, at least one input device, and at least one output device.

The systems and techniques described here can be implemented in acomputing system that includes a back-end component, a middlewarecomponent, or a front-end component, or any combination of back-end,middleware, or front-end components. The components of the system may beinterconnected by any form or medium of digital data communication(e.g., a communication network). Examples of communication networksinclude a local area network (“LAN”), a wide area network (“WAN”), andthe Internet.

While this specification contains many specific implementation details,these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of anydisclosures or of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions offeatures specific to particular implementations of particulardisclosures. Certain features that are described in this specificationin the context of separate implementations can also be implemented incombination in a single implementation. Conversely, various featuresthat are described in the context of a single implementation can also beimplemented in multiple implementations separately or in any suitablesubcombination. Moreover, although features may be described above asacting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, oneor more features from a claimed combination can in some cases be excisedfrom the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to asubcombination or variation of a subcombination.

Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particularorder, this should not be understood as requiring that such operationsbe performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, orthat all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirableresults. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processingmay be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various systemcomponents in the implementations described above should not beunderstood as requiring such separation in all implementations, and itshould be understood that the described program components and systemscan generally be integrated together in a single software product orpackaged into multiple software products.

Thus, particular implementations of the subject matter have beendescribed. Other implementations are within the scope of the followingclaims. In some cases, the actions recited in the claims can beperformed in a different order and still achieve desirable results. Inaddition, the processes depicted in the accompanying figures do notnecessarily require the particular order shown, or sequential order, toachieve desirable results. In certain implementations, multitasking andparallel processing may be advantageous.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: a processing circuitconfigured to: receive video content from a media source; receive arequest from a user to select an image from the video content; store theimage in a memory; determine that the image includes a plurality ofitems displayed in the image; conduct a search for known items that eachcorrespond to one of the plurality of items displayed in the image whileproviding a first visual indication for each of the plurality of itemsdisplayed in the image to signify a search status for that item, whereinthe first visual indication is modified from a first visual stateindicating that the search for the corresponding known item is ongoingto a second visual state indicating that the search for thecorresponding known item is completed; determine, based on the search,that the plurality of items displayed in the image includes a first itemhaving a known identity and a second item having a plurality of knownidentities; provide a second visual indication for each of the pluralityof items within the selected image to signify an identification statusfor that item by highlighting the first item and the second item in theimage, wherein the highlighting of the first item has a different colorthan the highlighting of the second item to signify that the first itemhas the known identity and the second item has the plurality of knownidentities; receive a user selection of one of the first item or thesecond item; retrieve information about the selected item; and providedisplay data, on a display device, in an overlay of the image of thevideo content, based on the retrieved information, wherein the displaydata comprises a hyperlink directing the user to their browser on thedisplay device for more information about the selected item.
 2. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the selection comprises performing acharacter recognition algorithm on the image to determine textualcharacters associated with the item displayed in the image.
 3. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the selection comprises determining the videocontent has predetermined item identifier data within the video contentreceived from the media source.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein theimage comprises an advertisement associated with an advertiser, theadvertisement comprising a hyperlink to a web page associated with theadvertiser.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of itemsdisplayed in the image comprise at least one of a human face, andobject, and a scene.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the processingcircuit is further configured to identify a text region of the image by:dividing the image into a plurality of regions; detecting features ineach region of the plurality of regions; analyzing detected features ineach region; and determining whether the detected features comprisestext.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the processing circuit isfurther configured to: search for identities of the plurality ofselected items, wherein the search comprises sending image data to animage matching module; receive a report from the image matching modulebased on the search; if an identity is found for an item based on thereport, determine that the item is a first item having a known identity;if an identity is not found for an item based on the report, determinethat the item is a second item having an unknown identity or that thesecond item has a plurality of known identities.
 8. A method comprising:receiving, at a processor, video content from a media source; receiving,at a processor, a request from a user via a pause command to select animage from the video content; storing the image in a memory; determiningthat the image includes a plurality of items displayed in the image;conducting a search for known items that each correspond to one of theplurality of items displayed in the image while providing a first visualindication for each of the plurality of items displayed in the image tosignify a search status for that item, wherein the first visualindication is modified from a first visual state indicating that thesearch for the corresponding known item is ongoing to a second visualstate indicating that the search for the corresponding known item iscompleted; determining, based on the search, that the plurality of itemsdisplayed in the image includes a first item having a known identity anda second item having a plurality of known identities; providing a secondvisual indication for each of the plurality of items within the selectedimage to signify an identification status for that item by highlightingthe first item and the second item in the image, wherein thehighlighting of the first item has a different color than thehighlighting of the second item to signify that the first item has theknown identity and the second item has the plurality of knownidentities; receiving, at the processor, a user selection of the firstor the second item; retrieving information about the selected item; andproviding display data, on a display device, in an overlay of the imageof the video content based on the retrieved information, wherein thedisplay data comprises a hyperlink directing the user to their browseron the display device for more information about the selected item. 9.The method of claim 8, wherein the selection comprises performing acharacter recognition algorithm on the image to determine textualcharacters associated with the items displayed in the image.
 10. Themethod of claim 8, wherein the selection comprises determining the videocontent has predetermined item identifier data within the video contentreceived from the media source.
 11. The method of claim 8, wherein theimage comprises an advertisement associated with an advertiser, theadvertisement comprising a hyperlink to a web site associated with theadvertiser.
 12. The method of claim 8, wherein the plurality of itemsdisplayed in the image comprise at least one of a human face, object,and a scene.
 13. The method of claim 8, further comprising identifying atext region of the image by: dividing the image into a plurality ofregions; detecting features in each region of the plurality of regions;analyzing detected features in each region; and determining whether thedetected features comprise text.
 14. The system of claim 1, wherein theinformation about the selected item comprises information about each ofthe plurality of known identities, and wherein the processing circuit isfurther configured to: receive a second user selection of one of theplurality of known identities; and retrieve additional information aboutthe selected one of the plurality of known identities.
 15. The method ofclaim 8, wherein the information about the selected item comprisesinformation about at least one of the plurality of known identities, andthe method further comprises: receiving a second user selection of oneof the plurality of known identities; and retrieving additionalinformation about the selected one of the plurality of known identities.